QUARTERBACKS - QUARTERBOY

QUARTERBACKS
QUARTERBOY
[Double Double Whammy, 2014]














For New Weird Utah nostalgists, upstaters, the tape label kids, people with guts: QUARTERBOY. No record of the last few years has made me feel more like I'm leaned into a corner of the shed at Kilby Court, arms tucked tight against my coat on a neck-snappingly cold winter night in 2006 or 2007. You can see everybody's breath in the house. High-school kids shivering cross-legged on the cement floor in front of the stage. The quietest you've ever heard an audience at a show. Singing right into your young and hungry hearts.

QUARTERBOY is a solo outing from Dean Engle, whose QUARTERBACKS is usually a punky three-piece. It's offered on tape from Double Double Whammy, the Purchase, NY-based label currently staging a full-fledged political takeover of the Eastern Seabord – stacked with bands, shilling Olympian DIY communitarianism, proprietors of David Blaine's The Steakhouse. Get in on the ground floor.

A cursory glance at the credits, liners and thanks of the DDW catalogue sees Engle's name popping up left and right, and you get the sense that QUARTERBACKS is at the core of a swelling movement up and down the Hudson Valley like so many scenes before it. The music is honest and brave and true.

Long live K Records, long live Marriage. Long live Sarah, long live SST. Long live Shrimper, long live A. Star. As long as there's kids there'll be kids doing this, and it'll never stop feeling this good. QUARTERBOY has the distinct emotional affect of one Thanksgiving song that I sometimes listened to more than 60 times in a row on late late nights in college. Or the Navigator CD-R I seem to play every single time I find myself, wistful, on a flight back from my grown-up life to stay in my childhood bedroom, an untouched time-capsule in the basement of my parents' home in Centerville, Utah. Certain songs, they get so scratched into our souls.

____________________
Notes
1. It is perhaps worth noting that this guy looks exactly like McKay Felt, who played up and down the Wasatch Front as The See Through Boy in those beloved mid-aughts years, and whom, full disclosure or at least bringing it all back home, I once played bass for.
2. When you need more, the following DDW releases are especially recommended:
Free Cake for Every Creature - "pretty good"
Frankie Cosmos - Zentropy
SPOOK HOUSES - Trying
Krill / LVL UP / Ovlov / Radiator Hospital - Split 7"

Wyld Wyzrdz - We Are Everyone

Wyld Wyzrdz
We Are Everyone
(07.2008, A. Star)
Verdict = Salt Lake’s best noise/ambient export

In my world, a world over crowded with numerous variations of slow-burning experimental titles, there has developed an unnecessary plethora of sub genres of noise and drone. Not only that but the overload of titles has made it much harder for individual records in the field to really stand out without being overwhelmingly good. Even fairly good records are starting to feel a bit stagnant and unnecessary. I mean, how many of these types of records are really necessary to have in a record collection? There have been a few records that have achieved that ‘overwhelmingly good’ standard though including The Fun Years’ Baby, It’s Cold Inside, Our Sleepless Forest’s self-titled debut and Birchville Cat Motel’s Gunpowder Temple of Heaven. Well, for those of us who revel in this stuff (and even for those that don’t) there is now another 2008 title to add to the short list of must have drone. Wyld Wyzrdz’ is a one man loop based outfit created by Braden J. McKenna. If the name sounds familiar then you are probably a regular reader because this is the same Braden J. McKenna behind the awesome lo-fi folk/noise pop project, The Navigator. I don’t know how this kid manages to turn everything he touches into gold, but let me assure you, We Are Everyone, his debut album as Wyld Wyzrdz, is just that. The first track alone is worth the price of admission as McKenna an 11+ minute track of equal parts beauty and dissonance that slowly loops and piles back on top of itself until it breaks away into a breezier, free folkish end. Literally, one of the best tracks of the year. The rest of the album works wonders as well, with guitar based slow burners that inhabit a wonderful space in-between the divine and the alien. Would fit quite nicely between Axolotl and Keith Fullerton Whitman or something like that. Huge recommendation.

-Mr. Thistle

Download We Are Everyone for free!

Stag Hare - Black Medicine Music

Stag Hare
Black Medicine Music
(06.2008, A. Star)
Verdict = Hotly cooked, droning ragas

It is always nice to see an artist on the attack with a creative, poised follow up. Stag Hare came onto the scene last year with his debut CDr, Ahspen, a single track built on tribal drums and hippy drones that wandered pleasantly and rewarded bountifully. It was a strong release with loads of potential, but sometimes unexpected initial successes can breed the all too common “sophomore slump.” Stag Hare has destroyed all notions of such a slump with his follow up, Black Medicine Music, a more focused, dynamic and varied realization of his debut’s strengths. For the few who were able to snag a copy of Ahspen and dug it, there is nothing to fear here. Stag Hare is still the crystal worshipping, percussion rattling free spirit that we first met when his debut came out in a manila envelope with a hand painted feather, even if his latest comes shrink wrapped with an actual CD. The melodic, humming drones are still intact, the primal drums still puttering along throughout like tracks under a train and the slow building euphoria of each song is still spot on. What’s new is the shorter (though, with only five tracks, they’re all still a fair length) songs that find more transcendent peaks among a multitude of additional ideas and movements within the songs themselves. The vocals are also a more predominant feature this time around with some of the lyrics almost surfacing to a decipherable level. As far as comparisons go here, Stag Hare stands strong along side Kranky artists Bird Show or White Rainbow (Adam Forkner actually mastered the album), though he is definitely working at carving out his own nitch. Black Medicine Music is a beautiful, glowing mark on map of Salt Lake City experimental music, even without the incense.

-Mr. Thistle

Stag Hare on Virb

Aye Aye - Saint Delay and The Golden God

LOCAL REVIEW
Aye Aye
Saint Delay and The Golden God
(01.2008, A. Star)
Verdict = Avant Psych-Blues Rumblings

For all those bustling around the FG office (which is actually a computer desk snuggled tightly into a short hallway of a minuscule apartment complex) Aye Aye’s debut record has been the subject of much anticipation. Proceeded by a year full of constantly changing and constantly satisfying live shows it was anyone’s guess what would make it to disc. In all honesty, this uncertainty as to what Aye Aye would turn into when recorded left me a little dissatisfied in the beginning. I listened to the first couple tracks was sort of anticlimactic. If you’re skimming this review, don’t stop here; my initial listen was far to rash and in retrospect, completely off base. There was a bit of trepidation in returning to the album after my first self ascribed scare. It can be hard to address something that you feel is going to disappoint, when you so desperately want it to succeed. It is like watching your scrawny little boy, who naively wants to be a boxer, prepare for his first match against an experienced kid twice his size. It’s almost unbearable to watch. Well, I’ve finally dug my heels in, gritted my teeth and followed the thing from beginning to end and what do you know: Aye Aye knocked that kid clean out! Round after round Aye Aye courageously shrugs off every paltry suggestion to bow out and instead pummels your expectations with an album completely fresh and astoundingly invigorating. Taking the signature bluesy roots of his songs and contorting and manipulating them into the perfect Molotov cocktail, Saint Delay and the Golden God is a ferocious victory. The deeper you get into the album the better it gets too. Like an uncontrollable snowball constantly building on the shoulders of the track immediately preceding it. As a reader of this here site and a fellow music enthusiast I can’t recommend enough that you throw out any hesitation and pick this album up. You will be glad you did.

-Mr. Thistle

Aye Aye on Virb

Hew Mun - Scintillated Garble

LOCAL REVIEW
Hew Mun
Scintillated Garble
(01.2008, A. Star)
Verdict = Satisfyingly Odd Sound Sculptures

In a somewhat surprising feat, A. Star compatriot Hew Mun (AKA Matthew Munn) has created the most self descriptive album title in Scintillated Garble. The album is a bizarre traverse through sparks of garbled noise undercut with melodies most likely spawned from an ogre’s wedding. If that doesn’t make sense then you are right on track. Hew Mun’s compositions could be reservedly called noise, but only in that they are supremely peculiar and, well, garbled. This isn’t however analogous to any hideous grind or dark drone. What sets Hew Mun’s brand of experimental music apart is its wonderful use of backwards melodies that seem to parade out of some alternate reality. It’s definitely a more hospitable noise if we must label it so at all. Hew Mun finds a lineage through similarly experimental noise-smiths that aren’t quite noise like Black Dice, Jan Jelinek and the earlier soundscapes of Animal Collective to name a few. Even with nods too these elder statesmen of weird, Hew Mun comes off as unique and humble. Munn, who is know to be reclusive shows on Scintillated Garble his meticulous attention to detail spreads throughout the album. The image of a boy in his room with a closet full of instruments seems to be overwhelming. Inject a few happy monsters into the mix out we have Scintillated Garble. With all the quaint simplicity and eccentricity of the album it is hard to convey how perfect this collection of songs is. Perhaps it is the charm of this inherent humility and certain innocence that drives Scintillated Garble beyond novelty and into the arena of essentiality. With every listen the album seems to snuggle closer and closer, becoming more familiar and warm while retaining its wonderful magic. It’s almost indefinable. Trying to handle it with words feels like carrying something immensely fragile and ultimately priceless. It is in this quaint and meek way that Hew Mun has created an intense classic that will become a treasure to those who embrace it. My favourite A. Star release yet and a certain fixture on my year end list.

-Mr. Thistle

Hew Mun on Virb

Navigator - Throwing Tongues

LOCAL REVIEW
Navigator
Throwing Tongues
(12.2007, A Star)
9.5/10

Navigator is the moniker of Braden J. McKenna. A self taught musical prodigy, McKenna was in multiple musical projects that rocked Kilby Court and the likes throughout his teenage years. Now he is stepping back into the limelight with new musical aspirations. He currently contributes his ear to a few local acts and writes solo, once under Braden J McKenna, now Navigator. Throwing Tongues is his first Navigator release and it will throw you into an instant love affair. Navigator is probably the first to admit that he isn't the most talented musician around, however, something about the way he is able to create a song is entrancing. It's simple folk pop with occasional electric rock outs. The composition is loose and expressive, nothing feels forced or perfected. McKenna's screechingly high voice quivers unimposing religion laden lyrics about Jonah and the Whale, Elijah, and the place where God resides over beautifully written subtle melodies. The liner notes of Throwing Tongues is a testament to the lo-fi aesthetic, listing the date and location of every recording. The list spans bedrooms and living rooms of friends and family illustrating Navigator's ability to make something out of nothing by being able to record at the drop of a hat. His feeble voice and amature recording abilities/resources seem to push the charm of the record far beyond anything that might have resulted from a studio. Navigator is a joy to see live (lucky there are two Navigator shows this weekend including tonights cd release at Slowtrain- see our previous shows posting!) The albums concise running time (just over thirty minutes) doesn't linger even a moment beyond its welcome, nestling itself precisely long enough to enter your ears and make its way to your heart. These tunes will stay with you, and you will like it! Sassigrass' pick for best album of the year, hands down!

-Sassigrass & Mr. Thistle

Navigator on Virb

The Tenants of Balthazar's Castle - Nephlocentric Moods

LOCAL REVIEW
The Tenants of Balthazar’s Castle
Nephlocentric Moods
(10.2007, A. Star)
8.0/10

The Tenants of Balthazar’s Castle continues in his prolific mode capturing the fifth of his alleged nine releases before “the castle will fall.” Nephlocentric Moods sees ToBC upping the packaging qualities of his work as well, including a beautiful photograph of a bustling cloudscape. The image shares the disposition of the music: warning of an impending storm. Nephlocentric Moods is a single track exceeding thirty minutes in length that parades some new territory for ToBC. Opening with an incessant buzz underscored by some brooding melodics, Nephlocentric Moods starts with the slowly building power electronics that any Tenants fan should be somewhat familiar with. The coarseness of the electronics falls just below the devastation of his debut, Terror in Twelve Parts. Slowly building, the introduction of some deviously distorted vocals demonizing the piece, causing you to question the direction you are heading. Just past ten minutes an alarm sounds, the phone is off the hook and a barrage of muffled explosives hit the surface. The escalation of tone continues to rise and then slowly withers away giving a brief relief. These minimalistic tricks continue until, about 2/3rds the way in, the structure switches from free noise to free jazz with a searing clarinet. The madman playing drives the last ten minutes of the piece to its breaking point. Another worthy addition to a spotless back catalog, The Tenants of Balthazar’s Castle continues to expand and excite.

-Mr. Thistle

ToBC on Virb

Stag Hare - Ahspen

Local Review
Stag Hare
Ahspen
(2007, American West Freedom Society)
9.0/10

Stag Hare has blown my mind. I didn’t have any idea stuff like this was being produced in Salt Lake City and am preparing an extensive search of the intriguing A. Star Records outfit. The sound on Ahspen is culled from the often touted and equally disowned explosion of a ‘new weird America.’ What Stag Hare has accomplished here is something that should definitely garner notice from the Jackie-O, Six Organs of Admittance and Holy Mountain crowds. The tracks read like Keith Fullerton Whitman's Lisbon as interperetted through Animal Collective in their more ambient moments. Bearing a single track just over 41 minutes, Stag Hare has the common obstacle found among many noise/drone acts of hooking their listener from the beginning and then keeping things interesting enough to coax them all the way to the end. On Ahspen, Stag Hare has somehow accomplished this task more successfully than any artists in recent memory. Stag Hare’s raga flows meticulously like the most serene metaphysical river, constantly and ever so slightly shifting and surging as it washes over you. Any endeavor to listen to such music of this nature comes with skepticism for me, even with knowledge that I am quite fond of experimental music. Stag hare has obliterated any preconceived doubts and converted a true believer. Snatch these up before word gets out; Ahspen is ultra limited (30 copies) and is an experience you are not likely to relive soon.

-Mr. Thistle

listen Ahspen on Stag Hares Virb page